Your Epidermis Is Showing. And It Looks Great.
We asked our colleagues about their skincare routines. And we heard from you, too. Here’s what we heard about how you take care of the skin you’re in.
Jonquilyn Hill, 1A Producer
Like most people, when puberty hit, it hit HARD. Around 6th or 7th grade, I became plagued with pimples that no amount of cleansing, toning, and moisturizing could shake. With the help of minocycline my senior year of high school and the balancing of hormones that came with age, my breakouts aren’t nearly as large and often as they used to be. Now the bulk of my skin care routine focuses on the hyperpigmentation acne has left behind over the years.
In the mornings I wash my face with a gel cleanser and tone with witch hazel. After that, I get down to business with serums. First up, I use a niacinamide serum. I have oily skin and this helps keep my huge pores in check. After that dries I use hyaluronic acid, which draws more moisture into the skin. I’ve found that this keeps my face from getting more oily throughout the day. I used to try and deprive my skin of moisture in an effort to dry out pimples. It wasn’t until now that I realized that that was making my skin work overtime to produce more oil. After the serums I use Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen. I like this particular brand because it doesn’t make me look ashy, unlike the sunscreens I remember being slathered with before day camp when I was a kid.
In the evening I double cleanse to remove all the makeup and dirt from the day — first with an oil cleanser that I mix myself, and then with a gel cleanser. My night time serums vary from day to day, but I use them all to work on either pimples or hyperpigmentation. I’ll rotate between a glycolic acid, salicylic acid pads, or an extra-strength peel that I use more sparingly (for skin and cost reasons). If it’s the weekend/I have time/I want to luxuriate I’ll use a clay mask or a sheet mask. I usually finish off with some sweet almond oil and Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask.
Anand Giridharadas, Time editor-at-large
Water and hope.
Emily Alfin Johnson, digital editor for Guns & America
So I am from the frigid north (New England) where moisturizer is life. After I moved back to New England after four years in the hyper-hydrated Pacific Northwest, my skin never forgave me so I go hardcore on anything with “hydrating” in the name.
The Ordinary’s line of skincare is perfect for a public radio budget (everything is like $7 and works like a charm) though I learned that you’re supposed to use a face mist (see: Mario Badescu’s Facial Spray, also a great deal) on before using hyaluronic acid for the best hydration pay off.
I recently got the sister-brand Hylamide instead of refilling on a few of my standards, because DC is less dry then Vermont in the winters, so now I am using SubQ Skin and Eyes, C25 and Glow morning and evening after the Pixi tonics (glow and Retinol.)
I wait patiently each year for the Sephora holiday set of Peter Thomas Roth masks ($75 for all six!!) — which are stellar and last a full 12 months. The Cucumber Mask is my best friend after a bad sunburn.
And credit to my 68-year-old dad with nearly flawless skin for this one: Bio Oil (in the baby aisle) is amazing skin oil. I have tried every miracle oil under the sun and this one is by far the best. I think he found it while shopping for my baby siblings. It’s incredibly hydrating and even healed up a nasty burn I had on my leg after a few weeks of use. Gold.
And on the topic of jade rollers (which I totally got in one of those subscription boxes!): I am pretty sure it’s totally a placebo but it brings me so much joy. I am a little crazy about cleaning it (because the idea of rubbing a dirty item all over fresh skin seems deeply flawed), but it also slows me down enough to enjoy putting all this crazy stuff on my skin at night especially.
Gabe Bullard, WAMU 88.5 Senior Editor
Because I’ve tried different samples, subscriptions, et cetera, I don’t have a strong loyalty to any particular brand for skin care. But I do have an informal routine for the category of things I put on my face and the things I use to take them off my face.
In the mornings most days, I wash with a face soap and apply lotion with an SPF 15 or higher. I’m bald, and a burnt head is something you only let happen once. It can be hard to find sun-protecting lotion that isn’t oily and doesn’t smell like I’m about to go to the beach, so when I find one that works, I try to stock up. I also use beard oil or wax most days, in a small amount. I’m not trying to shape or style my beard as much as I’m taking care of my face. I look for anything that isn’t too greasy and that doesn’t have a heavy scent. At night, I’ll wash my face with either face soap or a scrub.
On weekends, when I’m not rushing in the morning, I’ll sometimes apply a cream mask if there’s one around, or I might dig through a box of samples and try something out for the day. If I have a bad reaction to it and turn green, at least I won’t have to go to the office.
One theme I’ve noticed is that men’s products tend to either be short-lived (it’s hard to find anything in stock more than once) or they’re equal parts aggressively scented and extremely utilitarian. There are a lot of single-use glops meant for hair, face, body, and spirit that smell like some kind of cologne. I’m not really interested in that. I also try to cut down on single-use plastics, so packaging plays a role in anything I decide to buy.
Lindsay Foster Thomas, 1A Senior Managing Producer
Mornings:
Wash my face with Noxzema Classic Clean Moisturizing Cleansing Cream. If I’m feeling fancy and have them in stock, I’ll use Oil of Olay Daily Facials Cleansing Cloths. Then, I apply moisturizer: Up & Up oil-free moisturizer with SPF 15 has been my go-to for the last few years.
Evenings:
I either wash with AMBI Even & Clear Exfoliating Wash and put Palmer’s Skin Therapy Oil on. Or something relatively new I’ve added to the mix is Trader Joe’s Facial Cleansing Oil. Sometimes when I’m tired, I just use a facial cleansing wipe and call it a day.
As you can see, I’m cheap and that’s my skin care motivation. My affair with Noxema has lasted so long because it takes forever for the tub to run out. And, I usually cut the OoO cloths in half to make the supply last longer. Maybe one day I’ll try a product that’s not from a drugstore, but I’m afraid of starting an expensive habit and my skin is pretty good.
Haili Blassingame, 1A Intern
I usually wash my face in the shower using a cleanser and then a face scrub. On lazy late night weekends I use makeup wipes.
Gabrielle Healy, 1A Producer
My skin care routine has been roughly the same (but with varying degrees of consistency) since I was 15, and went to a dermatologist who designed this process for me.
Because my skin is prone to breaking out, I feel as if the quality of my skin often reflects how stressed I am or whatever is going on in my life. But sometimes it just demonstrates that I’ve fallen off the skincare wagon (read: I’m away from home and have forgotten to bring the correct products in my luggage).
Mornings:
I wake up and try to drink water immediately, mostly because I am thirsty but partly because I think proper hydration helps my skin. Then I drink enough coffee to negate all that hydration work.
After that, I use Clean & Clear’s benzoyl peroxide cream cleanser. It’s harsh, but it does keep my skin breakout-free. If I want something a little lighter because my skin is too dry, I’ll use Neutrogena’s oil-free acne cleanser (the orange-colored-kind, but I hate the smell), or Cetaphil’s face wash. Then, I’ll apply Differin gel and clindamycin phosphate lotion. Again, if my skin is dry, I’ll reverse the order because I feel like the clindamycin hydrates my skin more. If my skin is fairly clear, I’ll use the Cetaphil moisturizer on my whole face instead, but regardless, I always use that around my eyes.
Then, I apply lip balm while I do the rest of my skin.
The Differin and clindamycin function as a primer for my makeup. Nars foundation and bareMinerals powder are the two brands I use. The bareMinerals has SPF in it, which is good because I’m told sunscreen is very important.
I take my birth control pill religiously in the morning. I am convinced that this is the product that cleared my skin up the most initially. Those puberty hormones weren’t doing me any favors.
Evenings:
I do not use makeup wipes. Sue me. I’ll just do one of the cleansers I mentioned to take off my makeup. Every other day, or maybe every third day, I will use a Neutrogena facial scrub. It smells marginally better, allegedly like grapefruit.
About once per week, I will do a mud masque. I like the activated charcoal one from Origins. If I’m feeling really extra, I’ll steam my face with hot water before I apply it to open my pores. This does not happen all the time because I am lazy.
After I brush my teeth, I’ll apply Neutrogena’s targeted spot acne gel if I have any stubborn zits. I do try to change my pillowcases more than once a week because you never really know how much gunk is on there.
Charlotte Cho, Soko Glam Co-founder
My morning and evening routine always starts with the double cleanse using Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm to remove oil-based impurities and the Then I Met You Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel to remove any remaining impurities. To add some hydration and natural brighteners to my skin, I soak my skin with the Acwell Licorice pH Balancing Toner. The next layer of hydration comes from the Neogen Micro Essence, which contains my favorite fermented ingredients. If I have a bit of time, instead of the essence, I’ll apply a calming sheet mask from Benton. If I’m breaking out, I’ll use a Cosrx Pimple Patch to flatten it out as soon as possible. I always protect the fine skin around my eyes with the Mamonde Floral Eye Cream. During the day, I protect my skin from the sun rays with sunscreen, plus the Missha Magic Cushion gives me a nice dewy, light coverage of foundation.
Bianca Martin, 1A Producer
I try to wash my face before bed and in the morning with a gentle face cleanser, then put on lotion without Vaseline in the ingredients after washing. No astringent.
Lori McCue, Arts And Food Editor at DCist
Much like most women who read even one issue of Seventeen at a young age, I believed I had oily skin “because of hormones” from the ages of 14 to 25. Apparently no, a nice employee at a very expensive skincare store finally told me: I have pretty dry skin and all the foaming cleansers and CVS moisturizers I’d been slapping on my skin were only making it worse. Nowadays, the lineup behind my skincare routine is mostly oil-based, as the aforementioned shop employee recommended, and mostly Target-sourced, as she did not recommend, and can best be described as “whatever Buzzfeed tells me to buy.”
In the morning, I wash my face in the morning and at night with Cetaphil cleanser — the “gentle” variety, so as not to scare up any of the occasional breakouts I somehow still get. I smooth on a tiny bit of No 7 Glow Activating serum because I found a Bustle article particularly convincing. I then slather on an ungodly amount of Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel, which boasts a ton of hyaluronic acid. Other than sounding like a leftover bit of dialogue from Star Trek, I have no idea what hyaluronic acid does, but it feels moisturizing like a lotion, but not at all greasy, which makes it great for putting on as a base underneath my makeup.
Taking it all off at the end of the day is another multi-step process. First I scrub off all the makeup and other goop that made me look presentable with Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (especially important for rubbing out eyeliner and mascara), then wash again with the Cetaphil cleanser. After that, I splash some Thayers Witch Hazel on a cotton ball and dab on my freshly-washed mug. Am I sure witch hazel isn’t just a bottle of water with some nice-smelling stuff spritzed in? Not at all, but again, a very long Buzzfeed story worked its magic on me, and hey, I wouldn’t mind a placebo effect. I dab on some more of that hyaluronic acid nonsense and then finish with a few drops of rosehip oil, which my skin sucks up during the night — especially during the winter. I’m usually exhausted enough by this ordeal that I collapse into bed and dream of a future where I can afford a dermatologist to tell me what to do to my face instead of listening to Internet commenters.
Dave Cho, Soko Glam Co-founder
I’m big on efficiency and getting the most out of my day. Having a good skin care routine has always been an important part of my day, well before Soko Glam, well before the military, and even before West Point. It’s been something that’s been instilled in me from my mom and has become muscle memory for how I start and end my day. Having healthy skin helps me be at my best and keep issues that may slow me down or take up mindshare, at bay.
I always start with the Then I Met You Cleansing Duo — the Living Cleansing Balm to clear away the oil-based debris on my face and then followed up with the Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel to get all the water-based debris — it’s science not vanity. Now that I have a clean and clear canvas, my skin is prepared to take in the healthy ingredients to keep my skin in top shape. I then go into Beauty Water to set the right pH for my skin by putting a small amount in my hand and tapping it into my skin. Then Botanic Farm Rice Ferment First Essence for hydration — again tapped into my face with my hands. Then I’ll add tap in Elensilia Eye Cream around my eyes and finish off with the Neogen Day-Light Sunscreen. I use this hydrating sunscreen so I can skip the moisturizer before the sunscreen during the day. At night, I switch out the sunscreen with a good hydrating moisturizer, the Hanskin Cream. I make sure to also include my lips in the winter since they tend to get really dry. This entire routine takes me less than five minutes in the morning, and it gives me hours of healthy and protected skin. I’d say the investment is worth it.
Amy, 1A Listener
My skin care routine is somewhat in the ‘Asian beauty’ genre. I got
interested in it because of an article on Slate. This article happened to cause a big firestorm in the K-beauty community!
At the time, I was having a lot of problems with my skin. I was a
late-30s, Caucasian woman, and was getting some heavy-duty
immune-suppressants to deal with an autoimmune disease. The
immune-suppressants did a great job with the disease, but they thinned
my skin, and the things that used to work for my skin during the 20's
early 30’s era did not work at the time. I had acne AND dry skin, and
no moisturizer moisturized, and every cleanser left my skin chapped.
Winter was agony. Plus, I needed a sunscreen because of one of the
immune-suppressants left me at greater risk for skin cancer.
I tried some fancy products, but I was spending my money on child care
and medical treatments and the fancy products didn’t work. So the
K-beauty/Asian beauty discovery was great for me — some
experimentation necessary, but by going through blogs and reading I
was able to get together a solution that was affordable.
AM —
Oil cleanse Hadalabo brand
Regular cleanser Hadalabo brand
Toner/Lotion Hadalabo brand
CosRX Snail mucin power essence
CosRX Honey moisturizer
CosRX oil-free moisturizer
biore spf 50 sunscreen (from Japan)
makeup (foundation + blush)
PM —
Oil cleanse Hadalabo brand
Regular cleanser Hadalabo brand
Ph-adjusting toner Mizon brand
BHA CosRX
AHA Paula’s Choice Brand
Edited by Gabrielle Healy.
